Shouting Across An Ethnic Divide

Like me, blogger Steve MacLaughlin traces his lineage back to Scotland. But once the trace reaches those shores, it's safe to say that they branch off in different directions -- namely, Steve comes from native Protestant stock, while I'm descended from Irish Catholic immigrants who arrived in Scotland sometime in the 19th century -- at least as best as I can reckon.

How can I tell? Well, in a word, it's football. Scots football. After all, why else would Steve post something noting that Glasgow Rangers, the Protestant team, have pulled four points clear of defending league champions Celtic, the Catholic squad, after this weekend's slate of games?

(If you're James Reuben Haney, you root for Partick Thistle, but that's a story for another time.)

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not here to start a fight, or to get involved in one that my family left behind when it immigrated to the U.S. back in 1948. But what I would like to do is point to a movie that's not only entertaining, but also sheds some light on a conflict that's lingered for far too long.

Just debuting here in the U.S. on DVD and home video is A Shot At Glory, the story of a second division Scots football team and its improbable run to the Scottish Cup Final against the aforementioned Glasgow Rangers. It stars Robert Duvall as Gordon McLeod, manager of an obscure second division team enjoying a spurt of unexpected success in the early rounds of the Scottish Cup. At the urging of the team's owner, an American played by Michael Keaton, McLeod is forced to accept former Celtic striker and goal scoring machine Jackie McQuillan, onto his roster.

There are just two problems: first, McQuillan is a notorious drunk who has wasted his career at the bottom of a bottle; second, he's McLeod's estranged son-in-law, one McLeod won't forgive for squandering his talent, and leading McLeod's only child to marry a Catholic outside her church.

Laying on the irony even thicker is the fact that McQuillan is played by Ally McCoist, generally regarded as one of the greatest players in Rangers history. The two butt heads continually as the team continues to win, and heads for an inevitable clash with Rangers -- the New York Yankees of Socttish Soccer -- at Glasgow's Hampden Park.

You don't have to love soccer, or be a Scot to enjoy this movie, but it doesn't hurt either. Duvall's incredible Scots accent -- performed more precisely than any American actor ever has in film history -- almost makes the film worthwhile all on its own. Sure, some of the top line messages might seem heavy handed, but after a few centuries of this, followed up by almost 100 years of fighting an endless conflict by proxy on the football pitch, maybe that's not such a bad idea.

Pick it up. And Steve, if you're reading, you're always welcome to take in the Old Firm game with me at one of a number of local watering holes in D.C. if you're ever in town. I've got a lager with your name on it if you're so inclined.

Eric 03:37 PM

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